We're four races into the current 2018 Formula One season and Max Verstappen has had a shocking start to the campaign. He's been involved in a series of incidents which has put him under big scrutiny. Down below we'll take a look at several of the clashes he has had with his opponents during his time at the Red Bull team up to this time. 

Crashes and controversial incidents 

Max has certainly been involved in a series of controversial incidents since he replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull Racing before the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. 

Belgium 2016 

The first big clash occurred at Spa in '16. Verstappen, who was on the front row, got a slow start and was overtaken by the Ferrari's off the line. However, he wasn't prepared to give it up and sent a divebomb up the inside into which caused a chain reaction – he forced Raikkonen into Vettel and the German spun. The Finn picked up damage as the German and Max were forced to pit as well. You can't win the race at the beginning and it was quite a needless move from Verstappen. 

Mexico 2016 

There would be more controversy to come later that season in Mexico with his German rival. Vettel was rapidly catching Verstappen in the closing stages on much fresher tyres and has he caught him, Max locked up and went off at T1 but rejoined at T3 ahead. He refused to give up the position and backed the Ferrari man into his team-mate. Quite rightly he received a post-race penalty to lose a podium position. He really angered his arch-rival in the prancing horse because of it. 

Hungary 2017 

The young Dutch star had appeared to have learned his lesson for the most part in 2017 – albeit he was involved in an incident that saw him completely at fault. Red Bull looked competitive in Hungary – but disaster would strike on the first lap when Max hit the sidepod of Ricciardo's car which ended the Australian's race at turn 2. Verstappen was deservedly slapped with a 10-second time penalty for the crash. The Aussie was absolutely seething and gave the middle finger gesture to his stablemate from the side of track following his DNF.  

However, 2018 has been the year where Verstappen has really regressed in this area so far. He's had a nightmare start to the year. 

Australia 

It looked like Max would have a good start to the year. He outqualified his team-mate and started 4th. Yet, a poor start and then a silly spin between turns 1 and 2 when right behind Magnussen saw him end up finishing P6. It was the first signs of frustration on the Dutchman's part as a lack of patience behind his Danish rival cost him dearly. Instead, it was Ricciardo who got the 4th place finish in the Grand Prix. 

Bahrain 

The circuit in the middle east was the beginning of Max's nosedive so far in 2018. A crash in the opening segment of qualifying left him out of the running at an early stage. However, Sunday would be even worse. Off the line, he climbed from P15 to P11 by the completion of the opening tour of the Grand Prix – but at the beginning of lap two, he made a move on Hamilton that resulted in contact and the end of his race. It was an unnecessary squeeze on the exit of T1 because he had the move done on his British competitor. A very costly error from Max. 

China 

A mid-race safety car gave the young Dutchman a wonderful opening to take a victory in Shanghai. With Bottas, Vettel and Hamilton all on worn medium tyres and him having fresh soft tyres on his car, it looked a wonderful moment to take advantage. Yet, he blew it. A wildly ambitious move on Hamilton in corner seven saw him end up off the track and behind his stablemate. Then some more poor driving happened later in the Grand Prix when he hit Sebastian Vettel in the hairpin. As he saw his team-mate win, he ended up P5. A very disappointing ending.  

Azerbaijan 

China was a low point for Max – but things got a whole lot worse last weekend in Baku. A trip to the barriers in FP1 was the exact opposite to the start of the weekend he would have wanted and needed. He recovered his composure to be within a tenth of Ricciardo in qualifying. 

We all know what happened next. After multiple battles and some small contact between them, Max and Daniel had a large collision at turn one at the commencement of lap 40. Not for the first time [Raikkonen Hungary '16; Hamilton Japan '16], Max decided to make a late change of direction in the braking zone and Ricciardo ended up ramming him in the rear and both men were out of the race instantly.  

Ross Brawn pointed out that the Australian would have a lost a lot of downforce when Verstappen made his late defensive move: But I would like to highlight a technical point. Once Daniel had settled for his line, and Max had changed direction blocking that line, the Australian became a passenger. The downforce loss experienced by Ricciardo in the wake of Verstappen's car would have made it unstoppable. We often think of downforce in cornering, but the impact the extra grip has in braking is huge.'' 

Will Max learn his lesson? 

This writer massively rates the 20-year-old Dutchman [https://www.motorlat.com/notas/especiales/3607/just-how-good-is-max-verstappen] and I believe he can be a future world champion. Races like Brazil 2016, Malaysia and Mexico last year show the incredible raw talent and the speed he has at his disposal – and it's very easy to forget he's just 20.  

Sebastian Vettel was 23 when he got called the crash kid back in 2010 following incidents with Webber in Turkey and Button at Spa Now the German is known to be an incredibly clean racer and one of the best drivers in the history of the sport. 

However, Max needs to improve a few things before he can be considered a consistent driver who will win multiple championships. 

Clearly, the first thing to do is to cut down on the number of clashes he is having with other drivers on the circuit. He's already got into tangles with Hamilton, Vettel and Ricciardo in 2018 and we're only four races into the season. Even putting them aside, he's already crashed twice on his own this year at Sakhir and Baku. He's making too many mistakes at present. 

His temperament is something that can be questioned too. At times from the outside, it seems he can't accept responsibility for incidents at times – and tries everything in his power not to give up places. The reality is sometimes that your team-mate or other drivers will be faster and taking points instead of having a clash with someone is certainly a better option.  

His late moves under braking are definitely back in the spotlight following the fallout from Baku. They can be potentially very dangerous and from he'll have to be more careful with his team-mate in this regard from now on.  

Patience is also a trait he needs to add to his game. For example, the Dutch driver had plenty of time in China to work his way through the pack to win – but got impatient behind both Hamilton and Vettel. Keeping it cool and making decisive, clean moves is a lesson he could learn from Ricciardo. 

Without a doubt, Max Verstappen is more than good enough to win a lot of races and win championships in the future – but he needs to make some tweaks to his driving and race craft to fully exploit the amazing talent he possesses. A reduction in the number of crashes will be critical. 

His start to 2018 has been eerily similar to the way Daniil Kvyat began 2016 – and we all know how that ended for the Russian driver. Kvyat became known as the torpedo and Max replaced him ahead of the Spanish Grand Grand Prix. The next few races will be very important for the three-time Grand Prix winner. He needs a clean run of races and some good results to get his season going.